Anthony Edwards is monitoring to be one of many subsequent faces of the NBA, if he is not already there. We simply voted him No. 10 on our annual CBS Sports activities High 100 NBA gamers record, and it is solely going to be up from there if he continues the trail of he is on. 

Edwards exploded with profession highs throughout the board final season. He earned his first All-NBA choice and end seventh in MVP voting earlier than main the Timberwolves to the Western Convention finals — taking out Kevin Durant’s Suns and Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets alongside the best way. 

And as nice as he was within the common season, he received higher within the playoffs, which is not any small feat in opposition to one of the best competitors on the planet. He went from 25.9 PPG to 27.6 and 5.1 assists to six.5. In the meantime, his capturing clips went from 46% general and 35.7% from 3 to 48% and 40%, respectively. His protection can, and does, qualify as equally dominant when he places his foot down. 

It makes you marvel what Edwards can enhance upon this season and in seasons to return with already such a excessive commonplace set. For that, he was paying shut consideration to his legendary Staff USA teammates throughout their run to Olympic gold in Paris. 

At Timberwolves media day on Monday, Edwards talked concerning the Staff USA practices being essentially the most impactful a part of the Olympic course of, as he was in a position to see the best way a few of the best gamers ever deal with their enterprise. 

He marveled on the manner Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry “don’t miss” in exercises. He saved a very eager eye on LeBron James’ pregame routine by way of how he prepares to play on the highest stage at rattling close to 40 years outdated. 

However largely, he was watching Curry transfer with out the ball, and in that one takeaway Edwards believes he can discover simpler scoring alternatives that can take his manufacturing to a different stage as his NBA profession hits full stride. 

“I believe one of the best half about the entire [Olympic experience] was the practices,” Edwards stated. “I believe one of the best factor that I realized was from Steph. I took Bron’s pregame routine, however Steph simply enjoying with out the ball. So like, the previous few days [with the Timberwolves] we have been enjoying 5 on 5, I simply be slicing, getting out of the best way, and I get straightforward pictures. So I believe I realized essentially the most from Steph.”

This definitely is not the primary time one other participant has identified the facility of Curry’s off-ball motion — which, for all his theatrical ability shows on the court docket, has in all probability turn into his deadliest weapon. Nearly each nice scorer within the league does the majority of his work with the ball in his palms, which Curry can do as properly, but it surely’s some time totally different problem to defend a participant who by no means stops transferring. 

Defenders naturally let their guard down when their man provides up the ball, and it is in these break up seconds that Curry bursts to open area, be it with a minimize to the basket or a relocation behind the 3-point line. It is almost not possible to cowl for a whole possession, not to mention a whole sport. It is a superpower, and it is surprising that extra gamers have not adopted this off-ball aggression. 

Trae Younger, notably, wants so as to add this to his bag. It is tough, as a result of nice scorers are management freaks. They do not belief anybody else with the ball as a lot as they belief themselves, and there is a component of realizing in case you transfer you’ll get the ball again later within the possession in a premium place to attain that encourages you to present it up within the first place. 

Curry has constructed that kind of belief and anticipatory chemistry with the Warriors through the years. They’re all on the identical wavelength. It is unbelievable that Edwards has acknowledged the facility of transferring with out the ball quite than passing and standing nonetheless till you get it again, and if he constantly implements it he’ll turn into much more tough to defend. 

However it takes a dedication. The conditioning side can’t be overstated. These high gamers expend a lot vitality creating offense that on the uncommon event that the ball is not of their palms, their intuition is to take a breather, each bodily and mentally. Curry goes the opposite manner. When he provides up the ball, he hits the turbo button. 

Think about a participant with the pace and athleticism of Edwards doing that, and now think about his teammates seeing it sufficient that they begin to develop a chemistry to anticipate cuts and passes one beat forward of momentarily disoriented defenses. That is the place the straightforward buckets Edwards is speaking about present up, and the extra success he has with it, the extra he’ll decide to doing it constantly. That is when issues might get actually scary for Timberwolves opponents.